The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time

This book was interesting because it's told from the point of view of a 15-year-old autistic boy.  Having worked with autistic children in my "day job" I think the author presents an accurate portrayal of how the autistic mind sometimes works. The story was decent and you could probably finish the book in one day.

Christopher, our protagonist, initially starts off trying to solve the mystery of who killed his neighbor's dog.  That mystery is solved fairly early in the book and a larger problem is revealed.  The latter half of the book deals with this larger problem and left me feeling bland.  While it was interesting to see how this young man attempts to function in the "real world", it becomes wearisome after a while and you just feel kind of sad for him because he just does not function well socially and you fear he never will.  He's brilliant with math and science and tends to describe a lot of math and science in the book, but my eyes glazed over during those parts.

The silver lining is that he does test his limits and challenge himself when push comes to shove. Best of all, he rises to his challenges in the "real world", albeit quite messily.  So I guess if the point of the book was to open people's eyes to the world of autism, it does a very solid job.  I think this is a good introductory way of being exposed to autism in an accessible way. However, don't let the title fool you into thinking the entire book will be about solving a dog's murder. It has very little to do with dogs at all. The dog's murder is a red herring (if you read the book, you'll get my reference).

The Ocean at the End of the Lane

I really love the fact that it's a novel for adults but it reaches back to childhood and the reason why so many of us love to read stories.  We like to escape and imagine worlds that are full of adventure, excitement, and danger.  At approximately 180pages, this book is a quick read that will take you on a fantastic ride.  The boy in the story, who remains unnamed, is a shy bookworm with no friends.  One day a boarder at his family's home steals the father's car and kills himself at the end of the lane. When the boy and his father go to the end of the lane, they meet the Hempstock women.  They boy is seven years old and he meets Lettie Hempstock who is eleven years old. The two become quick friends and end up having an adventure that could mean life or death for one or both of them. I'm just going to leave it at that because this is a book that has to be enjoyed, not explained.

When we sometimes think of magical books or fantasy books, we think of Harry Potter or something similar.  This is a different kind of magic.  It's the kind that doesn't have answers and is closely intertwined with the real world in plain sight. That was one of the reasons I enjoyed it. You may never look at a full moon or the night sky in the same way after reading this book.  Is what we see on a daily basis real? Is your reality a mirage? Memory is a tricky thing.  When you remember something from your childhood, how sure are you of its veracity?

You can easily read this book in one day.  I suggest a nice quiet spot with your preferred warm beverage (coffee, tea, cider, cocoa) and a baked good.  If you can, get the physical book. Stay off social media, turn your phone/laptop/tablet off and enjoy!

The Silence of Bonaventure Arrow

This is one of the most beautiful books I've read this year.  Since this year is almost at a close, I think I can also say that it it's one of the most memorable books I've read this year.  It's set in 1950s Louisiana and the author uses such magical language in her descriptions of settings, thoughts, and emotions that you almost feel like you are right there cloaked in magical realism.

The protagonist of the book is Bonaventure Arrow who was born mute. He doesn't speak, but he has extra-sensitive hearing. He can hear the stars being born and the spices in the kitchen tell their stories about being used for gumbo.  He lives with his mother and paternal grandmother.  They are both shrouded in a deep, grieving sadness stemming from the death of Bonaventure's father. Ultimately, it is up to the spirit of the deceased father, Bonaventure, and Trinidad Prefontaine (a Creole woman with the power of healing and prophecy), to bring healing to all the characters. This story has layers that go beyond healing, though. It's also about our actions and how they affect others immediately and indefinitely.  It's also about taking the time to listen to others and to the world around you.

There are many layers to the plot, but I won't go into much detail because I really want you to read it. It's so beautifully and vividly written that I think you will get drawn in as quickly and easily as I did.

Five Star Billionaire

This is the November selection for the book club I attend. I was feeling rather lukewarm about it during the voting process.  We vote on the book for the month and while I didn't select this one, I wasn't upset when it won the vote either. I felt lukewarm and ambivalent.

Then I started reading it and I was actually pretty interested in the story.  The writing is very well done and in the beginning when the characters are being introduced and described, I was intrigued.

Then.............nothing major really happens for the rest of the 370+ pages.

Basically the story follows 5 characters who are all currently living in Shanghai, but were born in Malaysia. I didn't realize Shanghai had a lot of Malaysian immigrants.  However, if nothing else, this book does give you good geography lessons.  Anyway, one character is a pop star who gets TMZ'd after a fight in a nightclub and falls into a depression that ultimately leads him to a more "true to self" music career. The second character is a simple village girl who is obsessed with appearances and goes to great lengths to appear more successful than she is.  All she really wants is true love, but she goes about it the wrong way.  The third character is a successful businesswoman who is haunted by her past.  Her father was involved in a political corruption scandal and she carries the shame of that. The fourth character is the son of a real estate magnate. He is on the verge of closing a huge deal on a property when he is blindsided and loses the property, thereby sending his family into financial ruin. He, too, goes into a depression and isolates himself.

Which brings me to the fifth character, the five star billionaire.  He is connected to each of the characters in some kind of way.  He tries to date the simple village girl. He swindles the successful businesswoman.  He's the one who steals the property deal from the real estate guru.  He hires the pop singer to perform at a charity concert. Throughout the story, other connections are revealed as well. The businesswoman used to date the real estate guy's brother. The simple village girl is hired by the businesswoman to work in one of her spas. The pop star is chat-room friends with the simple village girl. And so on.  You get the picture. We're all connected.

The big reveal towards the end of the book is *why* the billionaire has intervened in all these lives, more specifically two of the lives. Then you see elements of a revenge novel. Even with all the interconnectedness, nothing really happens. At its core, it's just another story about everyone trying to make it in a big city.  Some people make it, some don't.  Some people stumble and stay down. Some people stumble and get back up.  It wasn't horrible, but I wasn't terribly interested in the characters. I wouldn't go out into the streets and tell the world they need to read it, but I also wouldn't tell the world they shouldn't read it. After all is said and done, my ambivalent lukewarm feeling remains.